I missed a milestone

With all of the excitement of the holidays, I missed a small milestone...12/26 marked 9 months since diagnosis. That seems so unreal, but here we are. Over the next week and some change I'll get to ring in a new year, celebrate another birthday and continue to work on the new and improved 2015 model of ME!  I'm a little scared and a lot excited.

I need to get to bed but before I go, I would like to ask our blog family for a favor.  I know of several people - friends and friends of friends - who are battling some serious health issues right now. If you pray, please say an extra one for these members of our blog family. If you don't, pray, think positive thoughts and send out some healing vibes.

Have a safe and happy NEW YEAR!!!!
Love to all!
Andee

Holy cow, 2014 is almost over

Well, hello friends!
I'm pretty excited that I'm writing this blog post from my Kindle with my new little keyboard. I love it! I don't have to haul out the laptops or belly up to the desktop to post. This is so great. It's amazing how such small things can make you BIG HAPPY.  lol
Let's get the health stuff out of the way.

• Skin - my skin is on the upswing. The blistered and raw areas are finally healing. I had to resort to bandaids and gauze for a few days to make it tolerable but the worst is over (that's me you hear, knocking on wood). I still have a wicked awesome tropical tan...that's about the size of a dish towel. I'm still smiling because it's over!
• Lungs - this one has been tough. I finished my ZPack on Tuesday but continued to use my inhaler because the stuff in my lungs did not want to move and over the last couple of days, it was getting harder to breathe. I was fully prepared to go back to the doctor tomorrow...which I still might, but we'll cover why in the next bullet.  Yesterday was full of constant, ugly, dry coughing but, thankfully, my aunt spent a lot of time whacking me on the back. One of my other aunts even stepped in to take some shots. I'm so thankful to both of them because last night, everything started to finally break up. I've also been using some essential oils - RC and Thieves have been in rotation. The RC helped my breathing more than my inhaler but for shorter periods. The downside of things breaking up was that I awoke at 2:30 AM and coughed non-stop until about 4. I was finally able to settle things down and get some rest. Now for the new wrinkle...
• At the same time we were finally able to get concrete out of my lungs, I've been hit with a cold. Really. I woke up with morning with the classic head cold symptoms on top of my (improving) lung issues. I'm pretty sure I can just wait this one out but if I feel worse tomorrow, it's back to the doctor I go. 

I get sick like clockwork. Every single December/January I get sick. I've heard of people who get sick  when things calm down - you can include me there. I get sick during holidays, vacations, I got sick between treatments. I guess it's nice that it happens during the slower (work wise) times of the year but it really makes the holidays/vacations kinda crappy.

(Warning: change of subject)

If you've looked at a calendar lately, you probably noticed that 2014 is coming to an end. How did that happen? Anyway, that means that my next project is about to commence. It's Operation FatBeGone! My feet are feeling better and I can almost breathe so it's time to get this party started. I'll have to start out slow with the exercise but diet can get going right out of the gate. I'm pretty excited to start seeing some changes. It might sound crazy to you but the weight gain has bothered me more than the mastectomy, as far as self image. I am still happy overall but just miserable about my appearance.  If you know me well, you know that I don't like to have my picture taken...especially these days. If you follow along o Instagram, that statement might be confusing to you since I've been posting selfies - bald & fat, with fuzz and fat, with some hair and fat...it has not been easy to click "post" but for some reason, I feel better after I do it. I keep thinking that maybe it will help someone else down the road. It reminds me that being bald or gaining weight isn't the worst that could happen. It helps me to just get over it, post the pic and move on. It will also be cool to see before and after when the changes start happening. 

So here's the plan. I'll be starting with Weight Watchers Online to track my food, etc. Points have worked well for me before so I'm going back to it. I'll continue WW as I transition to a diet that is primarily plant based. The Doolin house is also cutting back on sugar - that includes Bobby...that's HUGE! He's been so supportive and he's told me that he'll eat what I eat. That's commitment.  

I'll track my progress publicly like I have with everything else. Y'all know all of the rest of my business so why stop now?

It's time to go take some medicine, read to my children and get to bed...hopefully soon. 

Love to all!

Andee

They call me VapoRub

Stop what you are doing and buy stock in Vick's. I'm slathered in so much of this stuff that, not only will the dog not come near me, he actually got up and left the room. That's saying something considering he's periodically attracted to the litter box. This chest gunk situation is not looking good for me at the moment. I just finished day 5 of my antibiotic and I really don't feel any better than I did on Friday. In fact, I may be a bit worse, it's hard to tell. I did get some relief last night. One of my nurses suggested that I go home and have Bobby "pat" me on the back for about 15 minutes. Hitting sounds too violent so we'll describe it as firm pat.  With every couple of "pats" I would start to cough - you know, in that "I've been smoking for 80 years and I can't seem to catch my breath" kind of cough. We pushed through and I felt like it helped but I was still not being...um...productive. Well, at 3 AM things decided to start to work - I will spare you the details but let's just say that I feared that I was about to experience a scene from The Exorcist. This is good news but it was not entirely pleasant. We went through the whole "patting the back thing" again tonight. I followed it with a hot bath and the VapoRubDown. I fear that another trip to the doctor will be on the schedule before the end of the week. If I can't get this stuff to move, that could be bad. I shall keep a positive attitude, continue to bathe in VapoRub, hang tightly to my inhaler and continue with the percussion treatment. 

I don't want to talk about my skin - we are not on speaking terms at the moment. It's quite angry and I've had to take the huge step of covering a spot with a Lalaloopsy bandage.   Desperate times call for desperate measures...am I right?  I'm a little bummed that I didn't end up with a Bea Spells-A-Lot bandage - maybe next time.

We are preparing for time with family - I will require naps over the next few days, for certain, but it's all worth it. I expect to be able to post several times before the end of the year but, just in case, please have a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah (I know it's wrapping up but I hope it's been lovely), or a happy close to 2014...whatever you celebrate this time of year, I hope you are surrounded by family, joy, love and peace.  Count your blessings, hug your loved ones, say what needs to be said and do something special for someone because giving is the best gift of all!

I must sleep a bit now. Bobby and I will be up and down several times tonight tending to the country ham. Yes, The LD is currently filled with the aroma of down home country goodness. 

Goodnight my friends!

Love and warm holiday wishes to ALL!

Andee aka Wheezy aka VapoRub 

Well...

I'm on day 2 of antibiotics and an inhaler but things have not improved much. I have a "non-productive" cough, which is not a great thing when you are wheezing.  I've taken Mucinex and chugged lots of water, as instructed. Looks like it will be another night in the recliner. Woot woot. Oh, and to top it all off, I'm finally seeing those skin issues I was hoping to avoid. It's still not horrible but I'm not excited about having a couple of blisters on my side. Remember, it could be worse. 

Catch ya'll later. 

Love to all

Still Wheezy

There are some things you can count on

Welcome to my first post-treatment post.

I  AM DONE, PEOPLE!

Guess what we get to talk about in this new phase of my life...my health!! Can you believe it? Yes friends, true to form, I am sick. I have a tendency to get sick during "down time". It's as if my body fights off the cooties when I need to be healthy and as soon as life slows down just a bit, BAM...I come down with something. It's a gift. I was sick most of the time between chemo ending and radiation starting. I guess I never really fully recovered from that. Nothing serious, just some nuisance issues. Once radiation started I noticed some irritating chest congestion. Again, nothing serious but annoying. I assumed that the treatment itself had something to do with it. I never had a fever, never really felt sick but it kept getting progressively worse. Well, last weekend it started to get worse - I would cough a lot at night and the chest gunk seemed to get worse at night. I tried to catch my nurse on Monday but she was busy so I waited until Tuesday to ask her about it. She said it had nothing to do with radiation. She said that it can happen but it's typically weeks or months after treatment ends. (Oh my!) She said if it didn't get better I should see my family doctor. Well, the wheezing and crackling in my lungs became more pronounced yesterday so, today, off to the doc I went.  I'm now on strong antibiotics and an inhaler and I shall be sleeping in the recliner tonight. The chair, also know as Andrea's Recovery Chair, has been through a lot with me. Just in the past 8 years it's seen me through 5 surgical procedures, a high risk pregnancy (with raging heartburn) and a case of pneumonia. Wait - maybe the chair likes taking care of me and is causing all of this drama...I shall rename her Christine. lol

I'm praying that over the next few days I will be able to finish a sentence with out breaking into coughing fit which rivals that of a 75 year smoker. Wish me luck.

Love to all!

Wheezy

Let's Dance!

I'm not sure if you know this but my last radiation treatment is tomorrow!  Did you get that?  I said...

MY LAST RADIATION TREATMENT IS TOMORROW

I think that deserves a little Christmas Carlton Dance, don't you? Here you go!

We're pretty excited around here. Even Ptheven is exphited...

...about something.  ;-)

Yes friends, I'm happy to say that the treatment journey of 2014 is about to come to an end. I still have my maintenance stuff to do for a while but the heavy stuff is coming to an end. I'm really having a hard time believing that it's true. My emotions are all over the place - I'm excited but I'm also dealing with some unexpected emotions. Everything happened so fast after my diagnosis - we took action immediately and have been going full throttle ever since. I haven't spent too much time pondering what was going on and what a big deal it was. I went from diagnosis to surgery in 2 1/2 weeks, chemo started 4 weeks post op and you know the rest. So much has happened and I have learned so much this year. You've heard my "what I'm thankful for" speech multiple times at this point so I won't bore you again. If you (somehow) missed it, feel free to go back - it shows up in multiple blog posts. That said, I feel somewhat blessed to have gone through this experience. I hope I never have to go through this again but if I do (God forbid) I know have the strength to handle what's to come. My husband is stronger, my children are stronger, my family is stronger and closer than ever. I don't wish this on anyone but you do come out changed on the other side. Cancer really does "touch lives". You don't have to have it to be forever changed by it. I have so much I want to write about so there's no shortage of material, trust me. I just need to make the time to sit down and get it all out. The future is a little scary for me but I've got this...and you know me, I'll be sharing all along the way.

Enough of that. Let's get back to our treatment wind down. I had my last weekly appointment with my Radiation Oncologist today.  She's the one who has been telling me that she didn't want treatment to end. She and her nurse are spectacular. I so enjoy seeing them and chatting with them each week. I'm going to miss them...really! I know it sounds crazy to get attached to people but when you go through a life changing event, you tend to remember those folks who walked through it with you. Ask the nurse who took care of us when I lost our first child. Ask our NICU nurses. We stay in touch.  Back to the story - we finished our appointment/chat this morning and she asked if she could hug me. WELL OF COURSE!! I have been so blessed with a spectacular cancer care team and I cannot say enough good things about them. From the day I was diagnosed right up until today, I haven't worked with anyone who wasn't awesome. Seriously. Nurses, Nurse Navigator, physical therapist, surgeon, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, radiology technicians (is that the right term?) - every single person has been the best.

So, tomorrow I step off the ledge and into the deep end of the pool. I close out another crazy chapter in my crazy life.  Dance with me, won't you?!

Love to all!!

Andee

Quick update

Good evening all!

This will be quick. My DH (darling husband, for those who don't know) took me to dinner at one of my favorite places this evening. It was our first date night in about 8 months. It was so nice but I am worn out. 

I have some things I want to write about but it will have to wait until tomorrow evening.  Topics on tap are: wisdom from a podcast (seriously), my skin is angry, adhesive is still NOT my friend and I ONLY HAVE 5 treatments left. 

Good night. 

Sweet dreams

Love to all!

Andee

Let's see if I can make any of this interesting

Hello friends!
I have a lot of updates but I'm not sure if any of them are of interest to anyone...but here goes!


Part of the purpose of this blog has always been to share the experience. That means all aspects of the journey - the good, the bad, the irritating...all of it. Whether you're just interested, you have a loved one who is dealing with cancer or if you, yourself, are a patient, I hope that you find something helpful here on the blog. So let's start with the not so fun stuff.


You haven't heard me complain about my feet lately - that's because, against my better judgment, I announced a day without foot pain...and the next day, I KID YOU NOT,  the pain was back. Since that time I've had one other day that my feet felt ok. Overall, I'm seeing improvement but I'm far from being "all better" and if I spent a lot of time on my feet, I pay the price...trust me! I have figured out some things that help the pain (finally!) and that makes me happy. If I can keep it under control I can continue to increase my activity levels which will be helpful in reducing the size of my a$$.


Treatment is going well. I still have skin and it's only mildly angry. I've said it before and I'll say it again, it helps that much of the treatment area is numb. As of this writing I have 6 treatments left. One more of the initial treatment and then the final 5 will be electron therapy. That starts on Thursday. While my current treatment involves 3 treatment areas, the final round will focus on my surgical/scar area. I'll give you more detail later. I'm playing catch up here so I need to move on.


I'm still dealing with the mixed emotions that come with the end of treatment. I'm not freaking out or losing my positive attitude or anything like that. It's just that my life has been a certain way for the past 7 months and there is some comfort in action. Like I said before, I'm taking comfort in my daily Tamoxifen and my year of Herceptin infusions. It's all good!


My radiation oncologist did it again today. We were discussing treatment and she said "You're almost done."  I responded that, yes, our time together was coming to an end, that I would be finishing up next week. She responded with a disappointed "Awww." I know I've told this story a zillion times but I'm not sure if I've posted it here, but a few weeks ago she told me she didn't want my treatment to end. Ummm...yes you do! I can visit, we can have lunch, hang out...whatever...but I want my treatment to be over. I know what she meant but to the Jinx Queen (me) can't her having saying stuff like that aloud. I told her again today I would be happy to visit but we don't want anything even hinting at extended treatment - I don't want to NEED it, you see. I could not be more pleased with all of those who have been involved in my care and I'm sure I'll keep in touch. There's not a bad one in the bunch!


If you're following along on Instagram, you're seeing the "no one gives a crap" hair and eyelash updates. I'm living the "watch what you wish for" dream right now. I hoped my hair would start filling in and now it's getting so thick it's driving me nuts and I'm on the verge of shaving it. Of course, I won't...for now...but I need some length so I can do something with it. You can't flat iron hair that's a 1/2 inch long...not safely anyway. I'm just happy that it seems to be moving right along. Strangely, it's a lighter brown than it was prior to it falling out. I haven't seen my natural color in about a decade so it was a bit of a surprise. After the chemofuzz portion grows out, it may be yet another color. I love surprises! (sarcasm intended)


It's almost time to shift gears here on the blog. Treatment is winding down and next comes life after treatment. Is anyone interested in the other side of the journey? Honestly, it doesn't matter to me - I'll keep writing because it helps me.  I just hope what's been documented so far has helped a couple of people or made someone laugh or not be so afraid of the hideous disease. I'd love to hear from you if you have any feedback. You don't have to post a public comment here or on FB, you can send me an e-mail. I'd love to hear from you. If you have questions about anything, I'm (clearly) more than happy to share.  I'll post a dedicated e-mail address you can use to contact me.


On 12/26, it will have been 9 months since my diagnosis and what a time it has been. Let's get this treatment wrapped up and see what's in store for us in 2015, shall we?


So much love to all!!
Andee

Has it been a week already?

It's been a bit more than a week but here I am. If I don't have anything new to share, I try not to post - I hate to be repetitive just to get a post up. So, after a brief pause, here I am.
I'm still tired from a full day but before I hit the hay, I thought I would provide an update. Let's get started.

• Since my last Wacky Wednesday just about knocked me out, Bobby took off work today to go with me. Yes...he's awesome!
• We started with radiation. They were running about 30 minutes behind this morning but the treatment itself was uneventful. Yay!
• We then headed home but were there for less than an hour before it was time to move on to the next appointment. We grabbed a quick lunch and then headed to the clinic.
• I met with my medical oncologist - it was time for my 3 week check-in. We chatted for a bit - we had to get caught up, ya know. He then "officially" told me that my echo looked great and I'll have another one in 3 months (it's a thing). All good news. Then he drops the bomb on me....he says, "You're doing great so I'm going to only see you every 6 weeks rather than every 3...so every other treatment, you'll see me."  Oddly, I felt a little like he was breaking up with me. lol

This week has been one of good news and a continued boost for me. A big part of this game is mental, you have to have your head in the right place, focus on the positives and progress and live life!


With only two weeks left in treatment, I've been thinking a lot about what life will be like as it slides back into something like normal. It may just be me, but I find life after treatment more scary than treatment. I like action and doing something about this whole cancer thing. As of now I have no tumors or any other signs of disease but recurrence will forever be a concern. I find myself wanting to ask if they just want to radiate me every once in a while or give me a shot of chemo periodically, just to be safe. It sounds crazy, I know but at least you know you're doing something during treatment so it's a little scary to go out into the big bad world and be independent. No chemical crutches. The training wheels must come off at some point, right? I do have several months of Herceptin treatment and a decade of my meds to go so I just need to tell myself that I AM  doing something. I'm sure I'll write more about this particular phenomenon in future posts.


If you're following along on Instagram you already know that I stopped wearing wigs a few weeks ago and I really only wear hats to keep my head warm. I've learned something over these past few weeks that I feel I need to share, as a service to my fellow patients. BE WARNED: Apparently, the heads of people who have gone through chemo and are now showing hair growth are equally as tempting to touch as a pregnant woman's belly. Yes, friends, if I have my hat off people keep asking me if they can touch my head. If you know how I felt about anyone making any attempt to touch my pregnant belly, you will be surprised to know that I will let you touch my head. It's slightly less of an invasion of my personal space and significantly less weird than the belly thing, so I will permit it. If you lose your hair, for any reason, someone is going to ask if they can touch your head. Just so you know.   :-)


I must sleep now...


Love to all,
Andee